Buying someone elses website

[mapachoo]

Has anyone else done this or can some advice be offred ?
Someone has the perfect domain name for a website business i want to develop , they are using it as a hobbiest type site , i want to make it bigger and better.
But how should i value it and any ideas on the best way of aproaching them ?

[Mule]

You could try http://sedo.com

Other than that, the way I'd consider doing it is contacting them and being up front, tell them that you're considering starting a small business (make sure you say small) and that you'd like to purchase the domain from them. Offer them a sum of money that doesn't take the piss but still leaves you with more to barter with. Suggest that if they're not sure about the value of their domain to put it up for auction and that you will bid the amount you have offered so that they will get at least that amount. You could also suggest alternative domain names for them to use (though you risk them suggesting that you use the alternatives) and offer to have a link to their new web address (for a set length of time).